Dunkin's Identity Crisis

Dunkin Donuts is always more fun when you are with two pregnant women.

What I mean by that is that suddenly - all the rules are allowed to be broken....I can act pregnant too. When we arrived yesterday I was on a mission: go to Dunkin and eat something besides a bagel or munchkins. I have had them a thousand times and we already know they're amazing.

After much contemplation and some help from my side kicks I decided on the sausage, egg and cheese on a croissant. I also ordered: a bagel toasted with cream cheese, a seasame seed bagel toasted with cream cheese, 5 chocolate munchkins, a large tea, medium coffee and small decaf coffee. All for me of course (wink).

The food came out in shifts, first my sandwich, then the bagels, and the munchkins were forgotten. I went back to the counter to ask for them and let's just say the employee gave me a little more than 5 (sweet!).

I was full of anticipation when taking my first bite of this breakfast sandwich as my only experience with Dunkin has revolved around donuts, coffee and bagels. First bite - good. Second bite - good. The croissant was soft, flakey, and not greasy. It complemented the fake egg and sausage very well. Not too chewy but tasted delicate.

It occured to me that after a few bites that I am grossed out by nuked fast food eggs. The shape seems a little too manufactured and the texture is rubbery. This could be why I have become a fanatic for the chicken breakfast alternative.

Don't get me wrong - the sausage egg and cheese was good. However, it weighs in at over 600 calories and for that it is definitely not worth it. The reality is - Dunkin doesn't need to sell these. They have carved out a very competive niche with their superb coffee, outstanding donuts and mouth watering bagels. Are they really selling that many breakfast sandwiches to make a difference?

It just seems to me that a place like Dunkin should stick to what it knows best: coffee, donuts, bagels. Not a wide variety of breakfast hot sandwiches, smoothies, flat breads, and personal pizzas. The key word in their name is: DONUTS. Therefore you should serve: Donuts....I don't even know who you are anymore. You can't be everything to everybody.

Throughout eating my breakfast sandwich I looked at my pregnant compainions' bagels with envy. The good news is that I did manage to sneak a few munchkins so all turned out well in the end.

Overall experience - Good. Do I ever need to eat it again? No.

Please note: This video isn't our best work. There wasn't much to say about the sandwich other than the egg making us uncomfortable. The best part? The steam rising from my amazing coffee. I promise no special effects were used.

Panera's Apology

I guess my outraged email worked. I got this email today from Panera. I was impressed that they responded within 24 hours.

Does it make me feel better? Maybe. Will the free food voucher really make me feel good? Most likely. Unless they run out of eggs again...

"Dear Dan ,

I would like to take the opportunity to apologize in regards to the experience you had at our Panera Bread location in Countryside. All of our Managers and Associates receive extensive training to ensure that we provide the best possible customer service along with quality bakery goods. When one of our store locations falls short of their capabilities, it is important that we are notified so we can ensure it does not happen again. We appreciate you taking the time to send your comments on your recent visit with us.

This matter will be brought to the General Manager’s attention and not go unnoticed. If you would please forward your address to me, I will be sending you a voucher in the near future. I realize that receiving a voucher does not fix the problem, but I hope that you accept it as a token of appreciation for your business. Again, on behalf of Panera Bread please accept our apologies and sincere gratitude for bringing this situation to our attention.

Cordially,

Nicole McMinn

Receptionist

Panera Bread

Covelli Family Limited Partnership

4200 West Cypress Street
Tampa, Florida 33607

10:31am - Panera's Out of Eggs

It appears Panera only has a limited number of eggs available for their new breakfast sandwich.

When I started the Breakfast Bake Off this week, I was most excited about trying Panera's new "Grilled Breakfast Sandwiches" simply because the billboards and advertisements make it look so soul satisfying and tasty.

As you all may already know, I am not a huge advocate for Panera (although their food tastes good) because they run out of soup every night.

This morning I woke up and it was a beautiful day. We moved slowly getting out of bed, and pulled into our local Panera Bread at 10:30am. As I approached the store my little heart skipped a beat in anticipation of possibly tasting the best breakfast sandwich on earth. I walked up to the counter, greeted the employee and asked if the breakfasat sandwiches are any good. The employee responded: "They're very good but you're just a few minutes late. We stop serving them at 10:30am because we crack our eggs fresh every day and we just ran out."

My heart sank and then realized that it was 10:31am. I looked at her and said, "Are you serious? You're not going to serve me breakfast?" she replied, "You just missed it, we don't serve them after 10:30am." I then told her bluntly, "That sucks" and turned to my wife and said, "let's go, we're not eating here." The employee then shouted as I was walking away, "It's not my problem!" I was too enraged to respond so I just kept walking.

What?

It's not your problem? I forgot, it must be my problem that I got ready too slow this morning. Silly me, I'll try not to do that any more. I didn't realize that eating breakfast at Panera was such a privilege.

The reality is: It's HER problem. Not mine. She barely offered an apology, didn't offer an alternative and lost her restaurant money. The decision had been made, my wallet was in my hand, I was ready to give my money and she didn't let me.

What is the point of Panera spending millions on launching a new product, and telling the world about it if when customers go in the restaurant they can't get it?!

Don't even get me started on the fact that they "crack their eggs fresh" and magically run out at 10:30am. We all know there is no way this is possibly true. The truth is that they wanted to be done with breakfast and get ready for lunch so made a management decision to "run out of eggs" when it was convenient for them.

I have sent this blog and an angry email to Panera customer service. It should be interesting to see if they respond. In the meantime, I'm boycotting Panera. Not just because of this particular situation but because every time I walk in - they're out of something.

Unfortunately, I can't tell you if Panera's breakfast is any good - although it looks amazing. What I can tell you is that if you do decide to go to Panera, be sure to get there early, it appears that all of their eggs disappear abruptly at 10:30am.

Bite Size Fried Chicken Candy

Upon first hearing that Chick-Fil-A was serving fried chicken for breakfast, it made me feel slightly uncomfortable.

Fried chicken on a biscuit...eh, doesn't sound right. My first experience with the fried chicken breakfast phenomenon wasn't very promising. I ordered the full sized Chicken Biscuit from Chick-Fil-A over a month ago. The result? One Dry Mouth.

When I returned to Chick-Fil-A today to get a bite of the Chicken Minis I was concerned that the mini would have the same dry biscuit as the biggie.

Luckily, I wasn't too worried as I had a free coupon for a pack of three chicken minis (see video for full details on the coupon and why I shouldn't have gotten them for free).

My first issue with the minis is that you only get three and the total calories are 270. Which isn't bad for breakfast overall, but for only three bite sized chicken biscuits it's a little high. (But, who's counting calories anyway...)

The minis are good - very good. There is a delicate balance between the biscuit and chicken size. I was still trying to figure out where they got such small pieces of chicken but then my wife informed me that they were simply chicken nuggets. They're juicy, full flavored and most importantly on a completely different style of biscuit. The minis have a soft chewy biscuit (not sweaty) which complements the bite size fried chicken perfectly into a sweet breakfast harmony.

In short: the chicken mini is like a piece of fried chicken breakfast heaven candy. It's not too heavy and doesn't make you feel bloated as some other fast food breakfast items do, but it's also not big enough to fill you up.

I also tried the coffee at Chick-Fil-A which was an interesting experience. I requested cream and Splenda in my coffee and then was told that it "comes on the side", which is a classy way of saying: put it in yourself lazy fat man. Their coffee is a little too dark for me, and doesn't compare to Dunkin or McDonald's but overall not bad.

Chick-Fil-A would win the breakfast game if they gave me about 15 of these minis in one box and if they traded out their big biscuit with this smaller soft and chewy one.

Bottom line here is that the cows are right, we should all eat more (mini) chicken. Especially for breakfast. It's a welcomed alternative to the egg, sausage biscuit/wrap menu items that every other restaurant offers.

P.S: I will be adding two additional restaurants to the Breakfast Bake Off: Wendy's and Burger King...stay tuned and thanks for all your suggestions.

Editor's note: In this video blog I reference the Chick-Fil-A employee as "old woman". Please disregard this statement as she was young, hip and gave me outstanding service.

Breakfast Bake Off Week

The Egg McMuffin has been around for ages. McDonald's started the fast food breakfast phenomenon. Now, everybody wants a piece.

Wendy's, Hardee's, Burger King, Chick-Fil-A, Dunkin Donuts, Einstein's, and Panera...to name a few all have launched diverse breakfast menus in the past few years. Most recently Panera has introduced the "made by bakers breakfast sandwich" (I'm guessing the baker is a 16 year old) and Dunkin has launched toasty sandwiches. Not to mention McDonald's now sells the McSkillet - an egg buritto.

The question is: Who has the best?

Personally, I have never been much of a fast food breakfast guy. In fact, I have never eaten an Egg McMuffin before. Therefore my taste testing will be completely unbiased. Similar to the Sandwich Smackdown, the Breakfast Bake Off will offer full details of the best breakfast on earth. Tasting will be based on a number of things including: taste, service, price, calories (if available), and quality.Below is the schedule for the Breakfast Bake Off this week:

1. Chick-Fil-A
2. Dunkin Donuts (not the bagels)
3. McDonald's
4. Panera Bread
5. ?

I need to select a 5th location. Please advise by offering your suggestions of what my 5th restaurant should be. I have already taste tested Einstein's on a few occasions and they will also be competing for the title of: Breakfast Baking Champion.

Let the games begin!

5 Chick-Fil-A Secrets

As you are aware - I preach the good word of Chick-Fil-A on a frequent basis (minus the butts).

I was sent these 5 secrets by my friend Kyle who is by far on the top of his Classy Eating game. Please read below the enlightening secrets that Kyle has discovered and decided to share with the world:

1. French fries, the waffle fry is designed to be elusive in the way it fills up the container, making it look like there are more than there really are. Essentially all the fry container sizes have the same amount of fries.

The small and the medium hold nearly identical amounts since the small flexes when the medium is rigid. The large holds a few more but hardly enough to justify the 59 cent value size.

2. Children's toys can be traded in for a free Ice Dream cup. This makes perfect sense for you and Chick-Fil-A since their toys are awful and they cost a whole lot more than a cup of ice cream.

3. There is a secret menu item at a lot of Chick-Fil-A's that they don't want you to know about. Not all stores have it but some do. It's the Chick-Fil-A kids' meal with a chicken sandwich.

It costs normally about 75 cents to a dollar less than the combo which isn't a lot. But when you remember tricks one and two, that small fries are mediums and that boring book is worth a free Ice Dream, it starts to be a better value.

4. Don't forget - Kids nights are every Tuesday. Buy a combo meal and get a free 4 piece kids meal. Which means if you pay for the $5.69 combo # 1 you really get: A chicken sandwich, a medium drink, a small drink, essentially 2 medium fries and a free Ice Dream. Suddenly you can get really full at Chick-Fil-A for a reasonable price.

5. By far the most advanced and tricky is as you have recommended time and time again: if you eat at Chick-Fil-A, become a regular. Not an annoying regular that acts like you're entitled to anything, that will just create angry employees. But a nice regular that talks to the lonely 40 year old employees about their kids and stuff like that.

By doing this it will open the door to fresher food, better service, always getting fry boxes that are full (everyone has experienced the partially filled Chick-Fil-A fry box). Above all it opens the door to crew member creations. These are the most delicious of all Chick-Fil-A food. Ranging from buffalo chicken sandwiches to chicken quesadillas (these you have to become a regular in the eyes of the operator to get access to). Not to mention that a regular gets access to special milk shakes. I'm not going to go into them all but, the chocolate cookies and cream is the best milk shake in all of fast food.

Splash Hair Stick

There was one clear winner to the Splash Stick Competition. I give to you:

The Splash Hair Stick

This picture wins the competition for the sheer innovation and outright genius of manipulating the Starbucks Splash Stick into a form for every day use. The winner will receive an assortment of fabulous prizes which includes a Green Eggs T-Shirt.

Just remember this - next time you are running late and are desperate for Starbucks, just do your hair after you get your Splash Stick and you will save yourself 5 minutes.

Lemon Slices of Death

If you are going to get lemon, you should already know that we don't live in a ideal germ free world. If you honestly believe that your lemon is properly cared for and delivered germ free into your glass than you probably think everyone washes their hands when they use the restroom too.

My thought here is this - a researcher could go into any restaurant in the country and come up with conclusions about how something in the restaurant could cause you bodily harm.

For example: The Pager.

People touch it, they hold it, put it in their pocket, sit on it, give it to their kid, and they drool on it. News flash - no one cleans those things. So after your 15 minute wait of holding a germ infested pager, why don't you order an appetizer that requires you eating with your hands. But to be safe, you better NOT even think about getting a lemon in your drink...who knows how dirty the server's hands are.

It Doesn't Sweat and It's Free at McDonald's

It's been years since I ate food at McDonald's.

When I discovered they were handing out free chicken sandwiches with the purchase of a large or medium drink this Wednesday I had to go.

From the billboards I have seen and the flyers floating around this area the picture of the chicken sandwich looks like a direct rip off from Chick-Fil-A. It was on a plain bun, deep fried with two pickles: the signature Chik-Fil-A move.

I must be honest, as we were pulling up to McDonald's I was extremely skeptical. Why is McDonald's attempting to duplicate the genius work of Chick-Fil-A? Doesn't McDonald's already own enough of the world? Why do they have to go stomping on the best chicken sandwich on earth? One thing was clear - if McDonald's is going to go to the trouble to do a heavy advertising
campaign and then give the sandwiches away they had to be good.

We went through the drive thru of a McDonald's in Lakeland, FL and found ourselves also purchasing fries (which were amazing) and a McFlurry (fantastic).

Our drive thru experience turned interesting when the cashier openly admitted that McDonald's chicken sandwich was no where near as good as Chick-Fil-A's (see video for full action). Not to mention although McDonald's is known for its speedy drive thru, this particular experience lasted well over 5 minutes (and there was only one car in front of us).

Unlike Chick-Fil-A, McDonald's chicken sandwich comes in a box so the "sweaty bun" feature is avoided. McDonald's also placed the two signature pickles on top of the chicken instead of underneath, however being the true health freak that I am I quickly picked the pickles off to avoid any unnecessary calories.

I took a bite and much to my surprise and amazement it was good. Really good. I had very low expectations knowing in the back of my mind that there was the perfect chicken sandwich hanging out at Chick-Fil-A.

The chicken was crisp, yet not dry and it was a good sized portion. The regular price of the sandwich was $2.69 comparable to Chick-Fil-A.

The good news here is that McDonald's is giving out free chicken sandwiches with the purchase of a medium or large drink the next few Wednesdays. They also have a breakfast chicken biscuit that is free too. Next Wednesday you know where to find me - I will be eating breakfast and lunch at McDonald's

One thing is for sure - Bada da da da - I'm lovin' it.

This video is a bit long but provides a detailed account of our drive thru experience with a special guest appearance by a McDonald's employee.

Jamba your Way to Smoothie Junction

Two types of people buy smoothies:

1. Really cool teenagers trying to become cooler teenagers.
2. People who are healthy.

I am neither of these. But, I went and got a smoothie this morning from Smoothie Junction. This is a new smoothie place about a block from my house in Clearwater. It's owned by Bucs player Joey Galloway and his friend Dr. Michael Youssef. They have combined all of their "health" knowledge to create a mecca for health freaks.

In addition to just selling smoothies that have stocked their store with health products and supplements. They have the cheapest prices you can find and 3/4 of their store is dedicated to hundreds and hundreds of products.

The good news? Their smoothies taste really good too.

Being the kind of man that I am, I went for the Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Smoothie. Trust me, this is no shake from Chick-Fil-A but it was still creamy and delicious. Unlike other treats that have a chocolate peanut butter combination this only had 272 calories. Not to mention it's packed with 27 grams of protein and .6 grams of fiber. (I think this all means it's good for you).

As I started to suck down this creamy health drink the employee told me that it was a breakfast "meal replacement." A what? Does this mean I can't eat breakfast now because I just ate it through a straw? Although, I can't really complain since I ate chocolate and peanut butter for breakfast.

The difference between Smoothie Junction and every other smoothie place is simple. It's really all about health and how smoothies can enhance your wellness. Taste and flavor is important, but at the Junction health rules. They have a whole brochure at the register that has all of the calories, fat, carbs and other information about every one of their smoothies. For example: Fluffernutter Smoothie (fluffernutter is amazing by itself, imagine it in smoothie form) has 384 calories but 24.5 grams of protein.

Bottom line: If you're living on this planet, jamba your way to Smoothie Junction where you will be treated like a healthy king.

The Splash Stick Competition ends April 23 at 11:59pm! Send your photo in today to:danielrholm@gmail.com

Chili's has Free Chips and Salsa

Chili’s Bar and Grill has 1.5 good menu items.

1 Fajita Quesadillas
.5 Chips and Salsa

Here is the problem. The Chips and Salsa cost money. But, they don’t have to anymore.
There is a little unknown secret about Chili’s…if you sit in the lounge/bar the Chips and Salsa are Free. Completely free, no questions asked.

You don’t have to even have to double check with the server. If you order Chips and Salsa in the lounge they are automatically free, no catch, no gimmick, just absolute free bottomless Chips and Salsa.

This by far, is the classiest menu item a restaurant can offer and all you have to do is sit in the lounge.

This is an excerpt from the new eBook Classy Eater. Download your copy of this life changing book today by clicking here.

Start Complaining

People complain every day.

We whine and cry about traffic, the weather, how we slept, our pets, the food we ate, our car, cell phone service, Sam's Club (only because there is always a line), our co workers and most importantly: restaurants.

Restaurant complaints are important and valid simply because the customer is always right (usually, sometimes, it depends).

Typically when guests complain, no one cares. In a world of poor service, most restaurants figure - if you don't come back , who cares someone else will.

About a month ago I wrote about What Every Server Should Know in this post I talked about my recent experience at First Watch and our poor service and incorrect food. I was so irritated about how we were treated and the lack of care and concern from the employees that I sent an email to comments@firstwatch.com

In my email I wrote about my experience, how we were frequent guests and I also provided a link to my blog.

I got an email back the next day from the Vice President of Branding. I didn't expect a response at all. To say the least, I was extremely impressed that a VP took the time to write me a personal email back when he easily could have had one of his drones do it.

I didn't want any coupons or certificates I just simply wanted to bring the issue to their attention and hope that it would be fixed. He assured me he would personally look into it and that my email was being sent to the regional manager.

I think it worked.

I have been in First Watch a number of times since I wrote the post and sent the email. On my first visit back, a different server knew about our previously bad experience and comped our meal to make up for it.

Today I was at First Watch again and our sausage was undercooked. They fixed the issue and then comped the meal for the cooking error. It has occurred to me, since I dine their so frequently that it's possible they are only taking care of this because I am an angry little man. I hope that this isn't true though, I would prefer that First Watch is now aware that taking care of all guests when there is an issue or concern is more important than anything else.

Although the free food is nice, it's even more valuable that they listened, followed up and resolved the issue.

What's the lesson here? Complain - you may get a free meal out of it and you might change the world at the same time.

Save Room for Dessert?

You know when it's about to happen.

There you are sitting in a restaurant and you have just finished enjoying a nice dinner. Your dishes have been cleared and now you are simply engaging in relevant chit chat. Suddenly the server starts to walk up to your table, you make eye contact and then it happens. The question is popped:

"So, (they say casually) did you all save any room for dessert? (now burning a hole in your head demanding you spend another $7 on dessert you don't want or need)"

Obviously, I didn't save any room for dessert. It's not my birthday, I'm not here to spend ridiculous amounts of money for a piece of cake that has been sitting in the fridge for a week.

There are only two places you say "yes" to dessert at:

1. Cheesecake (because they will boo you if you don't)
2. Seasons 52 (because they are small and bite size delicious)

I said yes on Thursday night - but not at Cheesecake or Season's.

My wife was leaving work and a girl she worked with just happen to have a variety of desserts from a small Italian restaurant in St. Petersburg, FL. We don't know where these desserts came from, we don't know what this girl was doing with them. We only know my wife was thinking of me and brought one home.

It was delivered to me in a plain brown box with Cannoli Cake written on top in cursive writing. My eyes widened with excitement as I opened. Let me first say this - we all know cannolis are good. They are little mini tortillas stuffed with cream and chocolate chips. But - can you imagine an entire cake made out of this magical substance?

First bite - amazing. Second bite - amazing. Entire cake - amazing.

The bottom section of this two layer cake was chocolate which I avoided. I stuck to the top layer which was basically vanilla cake smothered in cannoli cream, sprinkled with chocolate chips with a delicate cannoli on top.

This was a complete dessert winner - life altering, ground breaking amazingness.

The sweet sad irony here is that this is probably one of those rare desserts that I would order in a restaurant when the server pops the questions. As an eating society we are doomed to be surrounded by hundreds of restaurants with all mediocre desserts. Now on Thursday night I find a diamond in the rust and I have no idea where it came from.

I can't recommend anything to you here except for to go find restaurants that have a giant piece of Cannoli Cake on their menu and then save room for dessert.

Stay tuned to the last 30 seconds of the video to watch an unsolicited cat fight.

Ask

Starbucks isn't handing Splash Sticks out like free candy. (Why would they? Nothing is ever free at Starbucks).

After a few experiences it appears that the Splash Sticks need to be "requested". If you order a drink or not ask your barista for a Splash Stick. I have also heard that they are passing out sticks for large orders.

It may work out better and be a bit more entertaining if you order a drink and struggle asking in desperation for a splash stick.

If you choose not to order a drink, simply request a splash stick for experimental purposes.

Once it's in your hand - take it on an adventure.

The Adventures of the Splash Stick

It appears that there are more than one use for Starbucks new splash stick.

Below is just a sample of the amazing adventures the splash stick can go on....


These works of art were sent to me by a valued and genius reader who will remain anonymous. As I looked over these pictures my imagination started rolling and I thought of a variety of places the splash stick should go.

What journey will your splash stick go on? Email me a photo of your most outrageous splash stick adventure and I'll post it on the blog.

Photos sent in by next Wednesday, April 23 will be entered to win a fabulous life changing Green Eggs T-shirt. Already have an amazing shirt? No problem - I'll take care of you. I will narrow it down to the top three and the winner will be voted by you.

Email me at: danielrholm@gmail.com

Let the games begin!

Splish Splash

It's happened to me on numerous occasions.

There I am driving in my car while trying to drink Starbucks at the exact same time. I try to get my mouth to align with the tiny little itty bitty hole and as I move and my eyes are on the road I break and coffee comes splashing out like a geyser.

I have also just had my Starbucks sitting in a cup holder in my car and I change lanes too quickly and splish splash coffee has been ejected and is now running down the side of the cup.

This led me to conclude that either I am a bad driver, or Starbucks should change their lid. Why can't their lid be like Dunkin with the nice little resealable feature? Oh wait, Starbucks has thought of a better idea.

The Splash Stick

This little plastic stick can now protect you from nasty spills while driving - please remove before drinking.

Being environmentally friendly as they are, Starbucks has recommended that guests hold on to their little splash stick for reuse. I then did some short math and came to the conclusion that for being so concerned about the "environment" Starbucks isn't doing much to help it. With a cup of coffee from Starbucks you receive 4 pieces of trash: cup, sleeve, lid, splash stick. Oh, don't worry it's all recyclable...unless you find a trash can first.

P.S. - This new Starbucks experience feature came straight from the minds at MyStarbucksIdea.com

I ate Subway.....and Survived

I claimed I would never do it.

I didn't listen to anyone who told me it was good.

Then Subway decided they would sell foot long sandwiches for $5 and suddenly I had a good reason to go.

I don't know what it is about Subway but for some odd reason it smells amazing in there. Even though I know they don't use "quality" products I can't get over the superb smell.

After we entered and smelled the goodness we were greeted by a very friendly "sandwich artist". It is always refreshing to meet an employee who is truly proud of their work. He paid very close attention to detail throughout the entire process, and even offered explanations of the variety of different breads and sandwiches.

I got my Italian sub toasted....err microwaved. Bottom line - Subway has sandwich making down to a science. Every step of building a sub has been streamlined and precisely measured so all subs are created equal. A foot long gets 12 pieces of meat and 4 pieces of cheese - please note I am not sure where this meat and cheese came from or how it got there.

The process was much smoother than Quizno's and faster than Firehouse however, remember Subway is completely fast food.

We got home and took the first bite...not bad. Second bite...not bad. Pretty soon after a few moments my first half was done and I was sandwich satisfied. It was better than Quizno's and no where near as good as Firehouse and Jimmy John's. The difference here is that it only cost $5 and it is a very good sized portion.

I regret not including Subway in the Sandwich Smackdown, however, I am still confident that Jimmy John's offers the best sandwich on earth.

Bottom line, here is the deal with Subway:

1. The meat and cheese source is a mystery.
2. It's a good value for what you're getting.
3. The bread is good (especially the Italian herb cheese one).
4. If it wasn't $5 I doubt I would ever go there again.
5. I ate an entire 12 inch sandwich and I'm still alive.

Would I recommend you go there? Not necessarily since for about $1 more you can go eat at Chipotle.....however, if you have $5 to spare and you're in the mood for a sandwich and you're not close to any other restaurant on earth it's not a bad idea.

We attempted to make a video blog, which turned into a mini home movie...you can watch it on YouTube by clicking here.

A Creamy Sensation

I have always been a rather big fan of Chick-Fil-A's hand spun milkshakes.

When they first came out a few years ago I made every effort to gather up as many coupons as possible to get free shakes. I typically go with the cookies and cream shake which is always a win. Between the thick yet creamy taste of the shake and the ever important whipped cream on top you can't go wrong with Chick-Fil-A.

Last year they launched a mint flavored shake which was very disappointing. It was very "syrupy" and the flavor tasted processed and fake.

When Chick-Fil-A recently announced the new Coffee Caramel Milkshake I was weary to give a try since their last attempt at introducing a new flavor wasn't very successful. It wasn't until a reader commented of its' amazingness that I was convinced I needed to try one immediately. It's always good to have a sister-in-law around who supports the cause and she picked up one for me yesterday.

Wow.

The Coffee Caramel Milkshake is a creamy sensation.

It's good and by good I mean life changing.

The coffee and caramel flavors blend perfectly. One flavor is not more powerful than the other. Imagine the perfect Frappuccino from Starbucks (minus the ice) and basically that's what this shake tastes like. The milkshake at Chick-Fil-A is different than any other coffee frozen drink I have tried because it's not "icy". Instead of the ice you get a big serving of creamy delicious coffee and caramel flavoring mixed with ice cream.

I don't know if there is any actual coffee in this shake, however it doesn't matter. Next time you are thinking of going to Starbucks or any other coffee place to get a frozen drink turn around and go to Chick-Fil-A.

Plus - it comes in an amazing cup, and feel free to pick up some butt free waffle fries while you're there.

Meeting the Einsteins

Everything tastes better when it's free.

There is nothing like waking up on a beautiful Saturday morning and going to get free breakfast. Our genius friends discovered this week that a new Einstein Bros. Bagels was opening today and their grand opening deal was - buy a large drink get a free breakfast sandwich.

We had to go. I have been very intrigued with the "breakfast" craze lately. It seems that every "fast food/casual" restaurant out there has some sort of baked breakfast sandwich. We arrive at Einstein's to meet our friends and first notice that they have definitely upgraded their interior. Food shots are displayed along the back near the menu and they have vertical food shots along the line. However the "line" and system of ordering are horribly designed. The line begins the moment you enter the door and ordering takes place in an awkward far right corner.

We got there before the big rush though and I was able to get to the front quickly. An assistant manager took my order with a hand held POS system...much to my dismay my wife wanted a bagel instead of a sandwich - bagels weren't free only breakfast sandwiches were. I still ordered two large drinks and a sausage egg and cheese bagel for myself.

Upon reaching the register the employee tells me as I'm paying that I still could have gotten another breakfast sandwich because I ordered two large drinks. Much to my horror she explains that I would have to get back in line and re-order to make it work. I decide to pass.

I get my egg, sausage and cheese on a bagel and it tastes pretty good. It doesn't taste like "fast food" and has a sense of freshness about it. It's highly possible it only tasted so good because it was free, I'm sure I would go back and pay $4.69 for it.

As we all continue to eat and talk we begin discussing the fact that I didn't get my second free sandwich (like I needed it). I asked two employees if we could make it happen that I saw walking around and while they agreed they could help me they made it sound to "difficult" and I lost interest. Our friends were much more determined. Jeremy the guy I was with decided to "handle it" and found the regional manager Jim who quickly decided that we needed our extra free sandwich. The result? An amazing egg, smoked bacon, spinach, Swiss & mozzarella cheese with spicy roasted tomato spread for free.

How much would it have cost if we would have paid on our own? - $5.19 Worth it? Yes. It was a good sized portion and the taste was exceptional.

Einsteins has always been a good restaurant, however I just don't dine their often. The bagels are great and the coffee is outstanding however, I believe the breakfast sandwiches may be a little overpriced as they come with no side or drink.

The best part of the day? Meeting the Einstein Brothers themselves - see our encounter in the video below...

All of the "new" breakfast offerings has caused a dilemma....which one is the best? The Breakfast Bake Off begins April 28th.

It's All in the Cup

Sometimes when I go to a restaurant and they have really nice cups I feel fabulous.

I'm not sure what it is, but for some reason when I sit down and the server brings me a nice large glass that fits in my hand just right, everything seems right with the world. I know it's going to be a quality experience and I know it because the restaurant clearly cares - they have invested in good glasses.

Let me cut right to the chase - Chili's attempt at glasses are pathetic. If you haven't noticed they are plastic mugs -I can't stand them. They always appear to be dirty and they feel cheap. You look through the side and your water looks "murky" (although it's possible that the water is dirty anyway).

Now let's look at another set of glasses which I tend to have a personal relationship with. The Outback Mugs. They are heavy, thick and freeze perfectly. I know that every server owns something from their restaurant, and let's just say if I had to own a piece of Outback the mug would be my first choice. Unfortunately, sadness struck about 8 months ago when the gorgeous Outback mug was replaced with a more modernized standard glass, still nice just not the same.

The "great glasses, great restaurant" policy also applies to "to go" cups. I don't want to appear to hate the environment, but the best to go cups are Styrofoam. For this reason Chick-Fil-A wins. They give you a nice big Styrofoam cup that doesn't sweat, get soggy or wilt. Its top quality and you can get a refill over and over again with no issues. I can use this cup all day long without leaving an obnoxious water ring wherever I set it. This cup is also great if you have plans to Chick-Fil-A hop. I myself have taken one Chick-Fil-A cup to three different malls on the same day and gotten a refill at each mall.

Panera - wanna be Styrofoam cups. They don't wilt or get soggy but Panera in an attempt to be more classy has fake Styrofoam cups that sweat. They also use the same cup for the fountain drinks as for the coffee. This makes no sense. I don't want to drink an iced tea out of a coffee cup. Can they not afford to invest in different cups for hot and cold beverages? If you order a large drink you get a giant plastic cup that sweats that a prostitute in church.

I have purposely not ordered a drink and a few restaurants because I don't want to deal with the obnoxious cup. First I don't want a cheapo plastic cup if I'm going to sit in the restaurant and enjoy it. Second, if I'm going to get the drink to go I don't need to have water dripping down my hand the entire time I'm drinking it.

Besides amazing food and remarkable service and a nice atmosphere and all that good restaurant stuff please, give me a good cup.

Starbucks Robbery

It's possible I don't know anything about coffee.

If you haven't noticed, Starbucks has been trying desperately to let the world know that they are changing things. I saw an ad yesterday in the paper for a free 8oz cup of Starbucks' new roast: Pike Place. Unfortunately, by the time I read this advertisement it was too late and the hour window of free sampling was over.

I still was intrigued so I visited the Starbucks website and much to my surprise they have gone through a complete makeover. It preaches of the heritage and history including full video tour of the "original Starbucks."

Starbucks new big idea is the Pike Place Roast (named after the first store in Pike Place Seattle). The roast they claim is smooth, rich and their best ever. Instead of having pre-ground beans they now are grinding all of their beans in store. Apparently this makes the coffee taste better. On their website you can watch the beans go through the entire process from warehouse to store.

More interestingly Starbucks has also reverted back to their original brown logo used in the 1980s before the green logo we know today. It appears this is suppose to convey a change in their direction back to their roots. Back to the Starbucks we all once knew and loved - I wasn't convinced.

This morning I stopped by Starbucks to try the new Pike Place Roast. Upon entering the store all of the attention is focused on the new roast. Big bags of coffee beans are for sale with dates of when they were delivered to the store. All promotional materials are focused on the new old brown logo. I started getting excited.

I got the cool new old brown logo cup in my hand and walked over to the cream and sugar station. I add my goods. I get back in my car. Slowly....very slowly I take a sip. Ahh....burned coffee.

I mean it tasted burnt. Then after a few more sips it occurred to me that maybe this is the way coffee is suppose to taste and I just don't know what I'm talking about.

Even if this coffee is the way coffee is suppose to taste it wasn't any good. It left a very burnt after taste. However, I paid $1.77 for my tall coffee so I was determined to drink the entire cup.

The best part of this Starbucks "experience" was the very end. As I turn my cup up to get the final sip, instead of fresh burnt coffee I got a mouth full of ground beans that was sitting like sand on the bottom of my cup.

Short review: I see an ad - I spend 20 minutes on the Starbucks website - I have predetermined that I'm going to Starbucks - I go out of my way to get Starbucks - I drink burnt coffee - My last sip is more ground beans than coffee.

Starbucks robbed me. They first stole my time, then stole space in my head, then took my money and in return I got a poor cup of their "special roast".

Why can't Starbucks just cut out all of the fluff and do one of two things:

1. If you say you're going to make good coffee - make it.
2. If you're not going to make good coffee, fine. Sell me on something more important like the escape your store offers me.

One thing is for sure - I would have been better off just buying a bag of Pike Place beans and eating them out of the bag like pieces of candy.

No More Butts

My complex started at an early age.

If I reflect back I believe that it began at around age 5 when my mom used to cut the crust off of my peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I didn't like the crust and she had a really cool tool for cutting the edges (butt) off.

It was round, similar to a cookie cutter and she pressed it down over the sandwich and within moments the butt was gone forever. I was now free to enjoy my sandwich the way it should have been designed in the first place.

My obsession with "no butt" food items didn't end there. Unbeknown to me I have gradually seen it develop into a variety of other food products.

First it spread to brownies. "You want me to eat the edge of the brownie that was backed up against the pan?" Never. It's hard, breaks off and is a waste of two bites. Give me the center where the softness lives. To my horror I discovered in a quick Google search that a brownie pan has been invented to increase the edges (butts) of brownies in your pan. Who is buying this product? Even more frightening they have a demonstration video - here you can watch the nightmare as they create more butts and less goodness.

My fear of butts on food items transitioned to cookies. I suddenly found myself eating all the way around the cookie getting rid of that nasty edge before truly indulging.

Don't even get me started on Pizza. Up until age 12 I would eat my pizza backwards to eliminate the crust. It was good for nothing. Why can't they just cover the entire thing in cheese and sauce?

The buttless obsession finally led to the worst butt of all: Waffle Fry Butts. Which I have discussed previously here with you.

There is one thing I forgot to mention though. The butt at Panera is easily comparable to the Waffle Fry Butt. I will never forget the first time a Panera employee tossed a big long bread butt on to my tray. My mouth dropped in shock as I walked away. Why - WHY would they give me a useless stump to eat my high calorie broccoli cheddar soup with? This resulted in me sitting in public picking the "guts" of the bread out and leaving the hard shell behind. A waste of food for me and for them.

I am trying, but it's difficult to live butt free. It seems at Chick-Fil-A there are more waffle fry butts than usual and Panera has apparently bought into this "bakers edge" pan.

The next step is petition, but for now I will just simply spread the word. You can join me, get a t-shirt and put an end to butts of all kind, but especially Waffle Fry Butts.

Click here to change the world.

11 Reasons for Lee Roy's

There are a few restaurants with the exception of Chipotle that are good every single time you eat there.

You know the place...they have all of your favorite menu items, you go in with a craving, the service is great and the food is life altering.

Lee Roy Selmon's has all of these attributes and more. Based off of the Hall of Fame Bucs player Lee Roy Selmon, this restaurant brings "soul satisfying" comfort food to the table. There are only 6 locations and if you have never visited one, it's time to go on a road trip.

Below are 11 Reasons you need to go to Lee Roy's now:

1. Free bread (upon request) brushed with BBQ butter - melts in your mouth.
2. Blue Moon beer on draft
3. 80z Filet covered in Parmesan butter
4. Soft buttery broccoli (yes even the veggies are good)
5. Home made lemonade
6. Mouth wash in the restrooms
7. Really really really good corn bread croutons
8. Four different choices of home made BBQ sauce (go with Georgia)
9. Mouth watering pulled pork
10. Mountain high nachos smothered in cheese and BBQ chicken or pork
11. Hot towels brought to you at the end of your meal

Lee Roy's does it right every time. They have amazing menu options and their BBQ is the ultimate. Smokey Bones shouldn't even be open compared to Lee Roy's.

Even if you only go for appetizers you can't go wrong. Stop in, get some lemonade, free bread and the nachos and you will walk out spending no more than $20. Be sure to use the mouth wash and get the hot towels and afterwards you will have enjoyed half of the 11 amazing reasons to eat there.

As far as the filet goes - it is the best I have ever had. You will be spending about $20 just for the entree but if you're interested in treating yourself like a real champion this is the only place to do it right. Let me repeat myself: the filet is covered in Parmesan butter. Not to mention you can get a side of butter covered soft broccoli.

If you are anywhere near the Tampa, St. Pete, Sarasota, Bradenton or Ft. Myers areas you should write down the 11 reasons, get in your car and drive to Lee Roy's sooner rather than later.

The free bread is worth the trip.

Survival of the Tastiest

Food tasting events are the ultimate.

It's a land of unlimited food and drink. You pay a base price and then you walk around and eat as much food as you possibly can. I had the opportunity to go to a "tasting" last night and I made some interesting observations.

First, people are barbarians. It's something about unlimited food that make people primitive and on the hunt. They enter, sniff around and find the best food possible. Then they go in for the kill again and again and again - to the exact same restaurant.

The event I went to last night had about 10 restaurants there - three of which were any good. The cost to get in was $90 (don't worry I paid nothing). Everyone who attended ate at the only three good restaurants that were there: Outback, Carrabba's and Bonefish.

Since they paid $90 to get in, it suddenly became their main goal to eat $90 worth of food at Outback, Carrabba's and Bonefish each. Myself included. I had two servings of Bang Bang Shrimp from Bonefish. (If you have never eaten this before, you have not lived).

My second observation of the evening was that even attendees (hunters) of tasting events are extremely lazy. They don't want to move more than 15 feet to get to the nearest restaurants (the hunted). Which simply means that the first three restaurants you see (if they are serving decent food) are bound to be the only place you hang out all night. Suddenly as if by magic the same 1,000 people are eating in a rotation which goes something like this:

1. See Food.
2. Smell Food.
3. Get in line for Food.
4. Eat Food.
5. Start all over again.

The combination of good food and good location results in zombie like food worshippers who are all fighting to get a bite. Which means two things: free entertainment for me and 7 restaurants who had a lot of left over food.

In a quick walk through of the other food areas every single restaurant that was on the outskirts (and who also happened to be serving not very good options) had literally no one at their station. Food was plated up, and ready to be passed out but no one came. No one cared. Why would any body go out of their way to see what Beef O'Brady's was serving when Bonefish had Bang Bang Shrimp?

To move this scenario outside of the food tasting world, think of the 3 closest restaurants to your house. Do you eat their often? If you don't, why not? Do they have poor options and bad service? If you haven't been there or thought of going there in the past week then they are doing something wrong.

If the observations I made last night have any connection to the "real world" than we know one thing must be true. There is only one way to survive - to be the tastiest.

Pump Less Gas...Get Doughnut Holes

You thought the Creme Doughnuts were good. Have you tried the doughnut holes?

My sister in law was getting gas at a Hess gas station this weekend and saw Krispy Kreme doughnut holes inside and for some reason decided I needed to try them.

When she brought them to our house and explained where they came from my initial reaction was - "that's disgusting". How can doughnuts that are sold in a gas station be any good. I must admit however that I have walked in many gas stations, looked at the doughnuts and thought - "those look good". I have just never brought my self to try one.....until now.

I open the Krispy Kreme box with caution, first smelling to ensure that all is safe. First bite....ya that was amazing. It's like a tiny piece of doughnut candy. The worst part of these particular holes is that they are easy to "pop" and by pop I mean, pop into your mouth.

The bigger question: How do they measure up to Dunkin Donuts? Good. Real good. There is a certain sense of moistness mixed with the already sugary Krispy Kreme flavor that makes this hole sensational.

It is completely different than Dunkin's Munchkins.....I'm unsure of saying they are absolutely better because it is hard to compare the two. But know this - two holes has 100 calories. Basically it's 100 calorie pack (I like to think in these terms to keep convincing myself I'm thin). For additional free entertainment, watch the video and count how many "100 calorie packs" I scarf down.

Because of the scarcity of Krispy Kreme locations I highly recommend you visit your nearest Hess gas station and pump one less gallon of gas. Use this left over cash to buy a box of Krispy Kreme Doughnut holes and go crazy.

Even if you do eat 12 it's still better than eating 12 regular doughnuts.

At the end of the video you will see the coolest shirt known to the human race. Now on sale by clicking here.

The Next Burrito Phenomenon

It have seen it more than once. It is a new Chipotle Burrito Phenomenon.

My wife saw it first in line at Chipotle a few weeks ago. The two guys in front of her ordered a burrito bowl but requested that they put the tortilla shell in the bowl and then put all of the "guts" of the burrito in the shell which was inside the bowl. She saw someone else do this a few days later.
Don't get me wrong, they are not just simply getting a burrito and then placing the burrito in the bowl. It's like an open face burrito. When she first told me about this new way of eating, I didn't believe her. Why would someone do this? Why not just get the bowl?

Then on Monday I saw it with my own eyes. A woman in the Chipotle in Orlando was sitting with a group of friends who were all eating open face burritos in a bowl.

The shell is just laying in the bowl open and all of the goods are on top. My question - do they eat the meat, cheese, lettuce salsa, rice etc and then eat the shell separate? Why would you want to eat the shell all alone? If it's going to cost you 200 calories you might as well enjoy it all wrapped up the way God intended it.

More interestingly my biggest issue with the original burrito is that the "guts" are not mixed up - they are in sections inside the shell. The bowl gives you the option to mix all of the ingredients to make every bite the best bite. Putting the shell in the bowl and then putting everything on top doesn't solve any issues - it just adds a giant shell to your bowl.

This "new style" of enjoying Chipotle reminds me of the Seinfeld episode when George sees someone eating a candy bar with a fork and knife and suddenly everyone in New York city starts eating candy bars with forks. You can watch a short clip on YouTube here.

Is the naked burrito in a bowl the new eating candy bars with a fork trend?

I don't know if it is or not, but it sounds interesting enough for me to try it. There has to be a reason I have seen so many people doing it.

Needless to say, I have a date this weekend with Chipotle, my hot wife, and a naked burrito with a shell in a bowl.